Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos took a look ahead at the coming winter after his club was bounced from the ALCS, and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca breaks down the most interesting information to come out of the GM’s comments. Of course, Toronto still needs to act to get Anthopoulos under contract, an under-the-radar issue that will soon move to the front burner.
Among the key notes:
- Anthopoulos doesn’t have any major changes in mind for the front office group working beneath him (assuming he reaches a new deal). Likewise, manager John Gibbons appears to be all but certain to return.
- Could the Jays make a serious effort to re-sign David Price? “I know he’s very open to being back here,” said Anthopoulos. “We’ll certainly be in the game.”
- The club could consider shifting young righties Aaron Sanchez and Roberto Osuna to the rotation, added Anthopoulos, as the club bids to fill out its staff. But he seemed to suggest that a return to starting might wait given the team’s expectations of contention next year.
- The club has some depth in the corner outfield/first base/DH slots, Anthopoulos noted. As Nicholson-Smith explains, Chris Colabello and Justin Smoak could end up being discussed in trades, and first base could be an area that the team could add a left-handed bat. Anthopoulos did add that “a little more balance” in the lineup would be preferable.
- The club will likely allow Ryan Goins and Devon Travis to compete for the starting second base job this spring.
- There’s also some depth in the outfield, where Kevin Pillar put up a nice year in center and Jose Bautista remains entrenched in right. That leaves a bit of a logjam among Ben Revere, Michael Saunders, and Dalton Pompey which could (at least in theory) be resolved via trade. Anthopoulos said that the depth is important to cover for injuries but also “gives [the team] some options.” He also added that Toronto still believes in Saunders, explaining that “his upside is huge.”
Please don’t put sanchez nor osuna in the rotation. Its time to spend some money on pitching
So you want your setup man & closer to both be Right-Handed pitchers who both rely on the fastball as their out-pitch? That would be foolish.
Between Sanchez & Osuna, one of them should move to the rotation, while the other stays in the bullpen.
Osuna has plus secondary stuff, it might be best to keep him in the bullpen at least one more year as he has very little innings(just set a career high professionally this year with 70IP in the regular season + 8IP in the postseason) before his arm is mature enough to handle a starter’s workload. Let’s not forget he’s just 20 years old and is coming off TJ surgery just last year.
Sanchez is a guy who struggles getting LHBs out as his secondary stuff isn’t good enough to induce whiffs. His GB tendencies with the ability to dominate RHBs is enough to make people think he’s best suited as a reliever.
Both should be in the bullpen at least for 2016, It’s not like the Jays are strapped for cash when there’s very little committed dollars for them beyond 2016.
If you’re worried about them getting opposite handed batters out and not having a great out pitch, the rotation should be the last place you want them. Guys with only two pitches or one very good pitch are meant for the bull pen.
@therealryan
now that I think about it, you make a good point. It’s just a general bias that I have against relief pitchers. Unless you think they’re going to be the next Davis / Chapman / Kimbrel, etc. then I’d rather then play out as a starter until they really demonstrate that they can’t start.
bingo. Give the Jays will give them the opportunity to start until they show they can’t, as they did with Sanchez this year. Although, that was different as they moved him due to injury.
Osuna and Sanchez were slated to be starters in 2016 since before the 2015 season started, and it hasn’t chanced since.
I would love for the O’s to go after Smoak. He could easily hit 35-40 homers in OPACY. In less than 300 ab’s he hit 18 with 59 rbi’s. Good defender who turns 29 in Dec. I’d imagine after making 1MM last year he’d be a great addition and could platoon with Pearce possibly.
Smoaks reputation has forever been damaged by playing for the Mariners, and it is a shame.
(1) In 2012, Smoak had 15 HR on the road, but only 4 HR at home
(2) Smoaks career ROAD splits listed his wRC+ at 99 and overall he projected to hit 27 HR and 22 doubles in 600 PA.
Smoak is a fly-ball hitter and Safeco field is death to fly balls; had Smoak never left the Rangers, by now, he would achieve several seasons of 30 HR and 30 doubles.
This is further evidenced by his 2015 campaign (with the Blue Jays); he projected to hit 36 HR and 32 doubles in 600 PA. If only the Blue Jays could manage to find consistent playing time for Smoak, we’d actually see those results come to fruition.
Bottom line: Smoak is a huge sleeper candidate waiting to explode.
I really hope the Blue Jays are wise and decide to keep Smoak.
The power has never really been a big issue surrounding Smoak. It isn’t a big surprise to see his homers jumps after leaving Safeco. The issue is his batting average. It isn’t very good. If he could walk a bit more, or hit around .250-.260, then he’d be very valuable. Unfortunately, he hasn’t done that yet and probably never will.
(1) Smoaks’ career BB% is 10.5%, which is actually pretty good.
(2) Smoak’s career wRC+ (for road games) is 99.
Carlos Gonzalez’ wRC+ (for road games) is 101.
If Smoak isn’t very good, do you say the same about CarGo?
Yes, his walk rate is very good, but that doesn’t change the fact that his OBP is still below .310. That doesn’t get it done as a first basemen. And I’ll admit, I knew CarGo had drastic road splits, but I didn’t know they were that bad. So with regards to the last question, I guess CarGo isn’t as good as people view him as, but is certainly better than Smoak because of position flexibility.
Why not? The right hitting coach and 500+ ab’s. Actually a very decent strikeout to walk ratio compared to alot of guys. Still pretty young. He can pick that average up plus huge upside for the $.
Smoak’s an interesting candidate, he did post a career best 25.4% HR/FB ratio with a .243ISO in just half a season worth of ABS. Like most guys who hit for power he’s prone to striking out, however it’s not due to him having a lack of plate discipline as it’s mostly due to a lack of respect from umpires most of the time. His O-Swing for his career is actually 27.7 % meaning he’s got a better eye than former teammate and comparable power guy Chris Davis who has a career 35.1%(31.0% in 2015) O-Swing with a 29.4 % HR/FB ratio this year. To put it in context Smoak’s O-Swing % this year was very comparable to teammate Edwin Encarnacion who posted a 26.3 % O-Swing.
If Smoak can suddenly get a more consistent strikezone he might actually be capable of hitting more consistently with almost as much power as the elite 3 true outcome players. However he accomplishes this is completely up this is unknown and as some have said he’s a very under the radar player who’s probably due to breakout.
Has forever been damaged. Really??
@Draven Moss
Compare Smoak’s plate discipline to that of the average player. His weakness is making contact outside the zone. But in pretty much all other facets of Swing rates and Contact rates, Smoak is better than average. [Jaysfan1994 also touched on that point.]
The move to SkyDome means that more of his LD and FB will result in more hits as he does makes hard contact. (Smoak’s career hard% is 33.9% which is above the league average, which fluctuates from 24.3% to 30.5%)
His results this season were so-so because his playing time was inconsistent. Give him 600 PA (in a season) in Toronto and his BA (and BABIP) will shoot upwards.
It’s very conceivable that Smoak’s wRC+ ‘breaks out’ into the 120 range.
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@6blairpaul
I used hyperbole in my description. Of course Smoak can salvage his reputation, but until he does, he will largely be seen as a bust.
I understand what you are saying but I look at his ’15 numbers and see a solid asset. For 1 MM.
For 1MM he is definitely a great asset to have. I’m just not expecting him to breakout, that’s all. I think he continues on the path he has been on except with more power.
I understand your excellent analysis but if I was Dan Duquette I’d do all I could to get him.For 20+MM less your getting what could easily be a 40+ home run 1b who doesn’t whiff as much as CD and with different hitting coaches maybe gets that avg. up to .250. And the O’s don’t throw crazy $ to a guy who without a tue could prove to be a liability.
Will they bring Marco Estrada back?
That will depend on if they get Price back, and what the market looks like afterwards. He’s due for a big raise, and the might be able to get another arm for the same price or less.
“Of course, Toronto still needs to act to get Anthopoulos under contract, an under-the-radar issue that will soon move to the front burner.”
I heard on the radio (fan 590) from Bob McCown that an extension for Anthopoulos has already been done, but Rogers and friends are waiting till after the WS to announce it.
But he said that his words are unconfirmed, so take it for what it’s worth.
I know Angelos and felt he was right in asking for so much for Duquette out of principle from Toronto last year, but really wish Dan was out of here. Buck actually does half his job anyway. I really thought that they would let him go this year for a top prospect or first round pick but that train is gone. DD thought he was a hot shot after ’14, but had just extended until ’18. Now we’re stuck with him through ’16 anyway. Also prayers out to Daniel Norris speaking of that episode reminded me he was a big part of that negotiation. The fact that he pitched well after the thyroid cancer diagnosis tells a great deal about the man!! God Bless him!!
I was making a point which led to the bottom line that Daniel Norris is battling thyroid cancer. I’m sorry if that offended someone. Out of respect for him don’t put a ngative mark against a sincere wish of good luck to a young man fighting cancer. That’s uncalled for. Atleast show yourself.
Jays should trade EE for a SP. This allows:
JB, Tulo more time off from the turf to DH/stay healthy
Colabello to get more at bats vs RHPs when Smoak plays 1B
Alleviates a bit of the log jam in the OF to allow Revere,Pillar,Saunders and JB all to play regularly
Any pitchers brought in via trade or free agency should fit the following criteria:
1) High ground ball rate
2) Innings eater
3) Low BB/9
Jays boast an incredible defense, therefor you want pitchers that make the other team put the ball in play. Furthermore, you want ground ball pitchers because of how hitter friendly the Rogers center is and how talented the infield defense is (Donaldson, Tulo, Goins/Travis, Smoak).
Lastly you need inning eaters. Losing Buehrle and potentially Estrada and Price; those are 3 guys that would combine for roughly 600 innings. Stroman, while incredibly talented, has never pitched a full season in the big leagues. Dickey will give you 200+ but where do the rest come from?
Potential trade candidates: Gio Gonzalez, Jon Niese,Tyson Ross, Kyle Gibson, Carlos Carrasco
Free agent signings: Mike Leake, Brett Anderson, Yovani Gallardo, Wei-Yin Chen
2 of the pitchers in a rotation with Stroman, Dickey, 1 of osuna/sanchez will keep the Jays as favorites for the AL East.
“Jays should trade EE for a SP”
Did you forget about the 10 and 5 rights?
And the fact he’s an elite slugger who just posted a 150WRC+ for the second straight year despite having a wonky finger/knuckle for the better half of this season.
Elite players on under priced contracts who will undoubtedly fetch draft pick compensations should never be traded. It’s not even like he’d waive his no-trade clause anyways so it’d be silly to even bring up the subject.
And did he also forget he is our top 3 hitter?
And the Jays will likely get a compensation pick if Edwin leaves after 2016?
I actually agree with this, and not simply for moving other guys around the lineup. I’m concerned that EE’s bat will degrade rapidly as he ages. Neither he not Bautista is young, but Bautista brings more to the plate than EE. When his bat speed goes I’m concerned he’ll be a .195 / .245 / .400 kind of guy. Jays can’t afford that for the kind of money he’ll want after this year. They need to trade one of their older bats and sign the other. I’d rather keep JB.
Kendrys Morales and Billy Butler fetched somewhat long term deals in horrendous walk years. Encarnacion being way more elite than them could post the numbers you suggested and still fetch a draft pick in return because the market has proved it.
I stopped reading as soon as you said trade EE. Not happening.
I think the Jays can target the Indians for pitching. They have a 1B problem and Jays need pitching. Maybe Colabello for Cody Anderson can work.
Surely Colabello doesn’t have that kind of trade value, right? He’s 32 years old, struck out 96 times in 333 AB, and had a .411 BABIP. He was good this year, but I wouldn’t trade anything but an average reliever for him right now. Certainly not a capable starter.
Definitely doesn’t have that kind of trade value
I wonder if his new boss Mark Shapiro agrees with any of that.
David Price seems to be the only ace willing to be in the foreign country that is Canada. No trade necessary. No 10-5 right to deal with. No prospects being given up. He wants to be in Toronto (for the most part). I would do whatever it takes to bring him back.
David is all class. Do you really believe he’ll pick Toronto over Chicago. Or most baseball towns in the lower 48. I don’t. Toronto’s beautiful but I would say he most certainly would rather play in the states.
Why would that be? Players absolutely love Toronto once they get there. Price has shown nothing but complete love for the city since the trade.
Winning and money makes any team look great to FA’s. That off-base notion that players pay more taxes in Canada was quickly forgotten about by Reyes, Buehrle, Price etc, the second they put on the Jays uniform and the found out what it’s actually like living in one of the best cities in NA.
If David has a choice between Wrigley field and the Cubs and Joe Maddon or Toronto, I believe he’ll not stay in what I agree in a very nice city. He’s Chicago bound. We’ll see what happens. It’ll be interesting to see if Bautista and Encarnacion are given the extensions they deserve.
As much as the Cubs need starting pitching, it will be interesting to see how hard they go after him rather than a 2nd tier candidate.
I’d love to understand, 2nd tier, 3rd tier. There’s a handful of aces, then you have a few quality lefty’s, then it’s a crap shoot. All the intangables. And analytics.
Offseason to do list (realisticly): Resign Estrada,Lowe. Not bring back Dickey. Trade either smoak or colabello; Saunders,revere or pompey. Sign or Trade for 2 starters and a left handed reliever.
Not sure I see Estrada returning, Jays can get SP just as good or maybe better for what he’s earning next season, Dickey will be back unless he retires, Colabello will be dangled in trade but who knows if anyone will bite. I can see Revere being traded, AA loves Saunders and Pompey has huge potential and makes very little money.